[Tony1110]

Agreed all around. They recently rebranded to start NuPrime for the higher end gear (or at least that's the perception I get). We'll see if things become more clear in the next year or so. 

They're one of those companies whose line encompasses too many products at too many different price points. I think a lot of people will struggle to take seriously a $2600 DAC made by a company that churns out $50 earphones and budget stuff like the UDAC. At the higher end of the market people are probably looking for a little bit of prestige. That's not to say that they can't compete in that sector or that they can't make a great product. They should have had a long-term marketing plan and stuck by it though.

 

[project86]

Going really high-end or really low-end is a double edged sword. NuForce used to be exclusively higher-end, until they came out with their Icon and uDAC stuff. I imagine they made a boatload of money by leveraging their reputation for high quality gear and attacking the budget market..... but at the same time have probably eroded their high-end reputation to some extent. Same thing happened to Musical Fidelity after they launched the V series. 

 

[abvolt]

Just got one of these dac's off audio advisor 440.00 sweet deal it's better then I thought it would be very cool.. 

 

[project86]

Yeah, that's a screaming deal for sure.

For those that aren't aware, Nuforce was recently sold to Optoma (the projector company). Jason Lim and some of the other staff have moved on to form several spinoff companies. The main one is NuPrime which aims to focus on the mid to (affordable) higher end. Sort of like the original NuForce concept before all the Icon and uDAC models.

EDIT I remembered the other spinoff ventures. One is Celsus who has a new portable DAC/amp just coming out for $595. The other is Encore AV which also has a portable but in a very different style, at only $129.

Time will tell how these brands shake out as far as what direction each goes in. I would guess NuPrime sticks to amps and DACs in the four figure price range, while maybe Celcus and Encore end up doing smaller stuff with more affordable prices.

 

[Tony1110]

Just got one of these dac's off audio advisor 440.00 sweet deal it's better then I thought it would be very cool.. 

It's a really solid DAC that seems to have flown under the radar. I don't think it's in the same league as the Anedio D2 I moved up to but I sometimes think it was better suited to the kind of music I listen to.

 

[Arcee]

After almost two years of using the Nuforce iDo as source/transport for my bedside rig, I got the opportunity to get the Nuforce DAC-80 for a bargain.

Now it's two weeks that I'm using it in the following set-up:
iPad - Apple CCK - DAC-80 - Little Dot MkIII tube amp - HD800

To be honest, the DAC-80 in this setup is a great device but not perfect. The volume control is bothering me a bit. When using the remote all is fine, except that you hear the volume increase in steps. The lowest volume level is quite high before moving to silence. Plus, the position of the volume control seems to lead to a fixed level. So touching the volume control can mean jumping to a level much higher or lower than what you were listening to.

Anyways, the upgrade is nice but I don't really mind switching back to the iDo.

So far for my bedside rig. The DAC-80 is nice but not a must.

I then moved the DAC-80 to the living room, where I have the Nuforce AVP-18 connected to two Quad 405 power amps bi wired to a pair of Vifa self built speakers. I used to have a 5.0 setup but gave up on that when I moved and was too lazy to pull all the cables and frankly, I don't miss all this multi speaker stuff, my heart is in Hifi.

Anyhow, I decided as an experiment to disconnect the AVP and put the DAC-80 instead in between my source (connected through Optical SPDIF) and my Quad's. Oh my... what a sound! It is maybe off topic on head-fi, but as a DAC/Preamp the DAC-80 is absolutely superb! The definition is perfect, the bass deep and controlled and above all, the soundstage is super impressive. Where the AVP-18 already impressed me, by a wide soundstage beyond my speakers and excellent placement, the DAC-80 makes it 3D. Apart from the horizontal plane through the speakers, the DAC-80 makes instruments and voices also come forward or move backwards. I almost had tears in my eyes when listening to my favorite tracks.

So, where as a DAC in my bedside rig driving my HD800 the DAC-80 didn't really impress me, as a preamp in my Hifi setup it absolutely did! I'm afraid my AVP-18 will go on sale.

The only issue is the lack of sources on the DAC-80. If anyone has a tip on a DAC of similar quality that can be used as a preamp and has a bit more sources, then I'd be interested. I'm looking at the NAD M51 but not sure if it will impress me like the DAC-80 does...

 

[johnnyb]

Head-fi'ers note: the DAC-80 is now on massdrop at a discounted price. I'm in!

 

[johnnyb]

Has anyone had luck with swapping out the op amps on the Nuforce DAC-80?  What op amps have you tried?

 

[frason]

Might be a silly question - is there a difference btw the Optoma version of this dac and the one produced before Nuforce was sold to Optoma?

 

[johnnyb]

I don't think there is any difference, but I don't have two physical units to compare. Comparing my new DAC-80 to older photos they appear to be the same.

 

[project86]

I agree, they should be the same and appear that way from everything I can find (pics, specs, etc). One of the reasons Optoma bought them, along with brand awareness, was for their existing models. So I see no reason why they would mess with a well-received design unless it had some issues that needed fixing. 

 

[sealykojac]

  Has anyone had luck with swapping out the op amps on the Nuforce DAC-80?  What op amps have you tried?

 
I'm curious if you ever try replacing the op amps?

 

[Mike Marschall]

  [size=small]Bingo! There it is! Big empty spot where the output transistors and heatsinks used to be[/size]
[size=small] in the DAC-100:

 
[/size]

 
Do you have any idea of the model of the output transistors and heatsinks that were used on the DAC-100? More importantly the output transistors. I've tried looking at some high res photos, but I can't really tell and I can't find any schematics. I'm wondering if I can solder them on and add a headphone jack and some wiring to my DAC-80. I don't really have any plans to do this right now, but it might be a fun thing to do in the future. I don't really want to drill a hole in my DAC-80 if this won't work though haha. Thanks in advance  

 

[project86]

   
Do you have any idea of the model of the output transistors and heatsinks that were used on the DAC-100? More importantly the output transistors. I've tried looking at some high res photos, but I can't really tell and I can't find any schematics. I'm wondering if I can solder them on and add a headphone jack and some wiring to my DAC-80. I don't really have any plans to do this right now, but it might be a fun thing to do in the future. I don't really want to drill a hole in my DAC-80 if this won't work though haha. Thanks in advance  

 
 
Sorry I don't know the specifics. That sounds like a deceptively complex project, maybe not worth the effort imho.

 

[Mike Marschall]

   
 
Sorry I don't know the specifics. That sounds like a deceptively complex project, maybe not worth the effort imho.

 
No problem! Yeah it probably isn't worth it. It doesn't seem too difficult and would be really cheap. I just would love a nice easy convenient way to plug my headphones in without buying any more gear Right now whenever I want to use my headphones on my desktop, I have to go get my apogee groove that I keep with my laptop. 
 
If I decide to have a go at it, I will post back here